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In 2006 I was stricken with a horrible autoimmune condition my endocrinologist would diagnose as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. I was first diagnosed with an under-active thyroid during my second pregnancy and then went on to develop the worst symptoms I’ve had in my life around the time my newborn daughter was about 6 months old. I was tired, cold, in complete brain fog, had tons of heart palpitations, cramped up, weak, and the most debilitating symptom was anxiety–anxiety that would send me to the emergency room on Thanksgiving Eve, 2006. I had no idea at the time that my body was in a complete state of panic.

After my visit to the ER roughly a week later, I sat in my endocrinologist’s office for 45 minutes asking him question after question about why I was going through Hell with this condition. I was told to take my medication every morning and that was that because in no way would he treat my symptoms. His main goal was to get my TSH back down where it needed to be because it was so high, apparently higher than he’d ever seen. I was sent to at least 3 different psychologists for the anxiety and not one could help me. All they could do was prescribe me a benzodiazepine–a medication I never wanted to take and one that I refused to take in the ER, the night before Thanksgiving. I had just graduated college with a degree in the health field and had clear knowledge of many medications. I also went through cardiac testing to find out what was causing the palpitations. No answers– even after visiting Chicago University and undergoing more extensive cardiac testing.

Time went on, a year to be exact, and I was prescribed Lexapro which did nothing. I was also finally prescribed Klonopin, another benzodiazepine that I didn’t want to take, but felt that I had no choice. I had to do something to stop the panic attacks. I had a family to raise! I knew that all of these symptoms were physiological and everything these psychiatrists were trying to tell me was malarkey. After being prescribed a normal dose, I would cut the dose in half and take it as I needed it, and still deal with the anxiety on a daily basis. I also underwent cognitive behavioral therapy to help stop the panic, which did help, but the anxiety, including a constant feeling of being on edge, remained and for no apparent reason. I was told by multiple doctors that my symptoms had nothing to do with the condition I had just been diagnosed with.

By the end of 2007, the anxiety started to simmer down a bit and I wanted to have another child. I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of having the family I always wanted. I weaned myself off the medication and started to have anxiety again, but it gradually got better and my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone – which was originally the highest my doctor had every seen) had now returned to a normal safe level.

I continued to have symptoms throughout the rest of my pregnancies and after each child, would come the cruel punishment of going through this exact scenario again. After my 5th child in 2013, I was then diagnosed with another more serious autoimmune disorder and spent one horrible week in the hospital just after she was born. Again, no explanation, but my blood work was way off and I had to have a transfusion. I never once got an explanation as to what was happening inside my body, other than my immune system had become confused and was now attacking my own tissues and organs. I had an enlarged (unexplained) spleen and my blood cells were all over the place. I underwent a bone marrow aspiration for study. Still no answers.

Eventually, my symptoms gave me the title ‘hypochondriac’ by multiple people. I had one doctor tell me it was all in my head–even though I had plenty of abnormal tests to prove something was happening, including a dead thyroid. Another doctor blamed the anxiety on parts of my childhood, family genetics, and another asked me if I’d ever smoked weed. One doctor even told me it was my daughter’s heart condition that was wearing on me and I began to wonder where these people got their educations. There wasn’t a single doctor that was willing to admit that these symptoms were physiological and coming from some sort of condition in my body. All they wanted to do was blame me and tell me that ‘I’ was the reason for all of it. I was at my wit’s end. If the symptoms weren’t enough to make me go crazy, all of these wacko doctors were going to do the trick. One of the huge reasons I wanted to get off the benzodiazepine was because they don’t want to write prescriptions for those medicines anyhow! These medications are tranquilizers and I wanted no part of them. I knew that they could be habit forming and didn’t want them to become a crutch. I had to find a way to stay off these medications.

Fast forward to 2017 and I still have every symptom that I had in 2007, but I’ve learned to deal with it. Symptoms are better, and it’s no longer debilitating. I’m off all meds except my thyroid hormone pill (which I’m sure I’ll have to take the rest of my life) considering my thyroid has been killed by my immune system. I’ve become numb to most of the symptoms and do the best I can with diet and exercise. Truthfully, most times, I just ignore what’s happening. My heart rate can shoot up into the 100’s for no reason. I can be cooking at the stove in a relaxed state and place of happiness, when anxiety will suddenly strike me, bad enough that it makes me want to run out of the front door and out of my house as far away as I can possibly go.

My body goes into a complete state of ‘fight or flight’ as if there is a serious impending danger for absolutely no reason. I’ve learned to not be afraid of it, but it still continues with zero answers.

My ‘other’ more serious autoimmune condition (luckily) I was able to combat. With all the changes I’ve made and some that I’ve just continued–juicing, smoothies, raw food diet, essential oils, stress reduction, systemic allergy testing, supplements, and elimination of everything that was irritating my system, I was able to get my labs back to normal and I’ve been told that I beat Lupus. When visiting my rheumatologist one last time this year,  I was still questioning my high ANA test. He does believe it’s possible that the Hashimoto’s is responsible for the ‘left overs.’ He looked at me and said, “Everyone has thyroid problems.” Surely not everyone does, I thought, but it’s true that thyroid disorders are out of control and at an all time high. More and more people I talk to say they have one thyroid condition or another. Some have mystery illnesses that they can’t figure out. All of this floats around in my head and I still wonder why people (including myself) aren’t living their best lives? Why are so many people sick? Why are so many people fighting cancer? Does it all boil down to how we live and the choices we make, or is it something else?

After all the books I’ve read, I’ve learned about genetics, epigenetics,  food triggers, and even virus infections that can lead to autoimmune disorders. I also had the virus testing to prove that I had already been infected (at some point) with Cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr, and I’d recently had a transfusion after my 5th child which might explain some of that, even the enlarged spleen. Regardless, I have never gotten answers for any of my symptoms and until now, I’ve considered all of this speculation. Could a virus really be responsible for what has caused all of my autoimmune issues?

I came across this book called Thyroid Healing by Anthony William. I almost didn’t grab it because I’ve read pretty much every book there is on thyroid conditions and they all seem to have the same things to say. I brought it home, and I could barely put it down once I started.

Everything that Mr. William is saying in this book made complete sense to me. I had many aha moments and couldn’t believe my eyes. In a nutshell, it’s all about this ‘Thyroid Virus’ he says is Epstein Barr (EBV). *Light bulb goes on* I already know I’ve been infected with this virus. Could this be the reason for all my symptoms all this time?

Of course, Anthony William is saying that most of the symptoms will come from the virus and it’s four stages. Some of the symptoms that ring a bell for me are the anxiety, headaches, coldness, heart palpitations, insomnia, aches and pains, as well as a few others which have never left, but mainly sort of waxed and waned over time. Symptoms come and go, but emotional stress, introducing foods that my body can’t handle, pregnancy, hormone fluctuations in general, or any disruption in my body like using antibiotics always sets me back to the start. Basically, I’m the person he’s explaining in this book. Any one of these triggers above happen, it fuels the fire (EBV), and starts the symptoms all over again. Could this be the answer?

He goes on to explain every one of these symptoms and why thyroid condition sufferers have them. He also talks about supplements and foods to help, what to avoid, gives a series of action plans, and includes recipes. I’ve already started one of the plans and want to see how this pans out. Even though I’ve remained fairly healthy and kept up with what I know to stay in what I call ‘homeostasis mode’ – the symptoms almost always break through at some point and I’m left to question what is going on inside my body.

Throughout reading the book, I began to ask myself, “Who is Anthony William?” I flipped to the back of the book and read about how Anthony William is not a doctor, he’s a medical medium– a person who was born with the special ability to converse with a higher spiritual being, which is the basis for all of the healing information in this book. I found that compelling, although I still remain skeptical. What I find most compelling about the book is that it makes complete sense. This is the first book that has addressed many of my personal symptoms that have gone unanswered to this point.

So, here I am on the first protocol which involves the removal of certain foods (many I have already been avoiding) and the addition to a few simple things like lemon water and celery juice. I’m going to do everything outlined in the book and I’ll update my results every 2-3 weeks. The whole process should take roughly 90 days, but I know that the work doesn’t stop there. I plan to continue on with the healthy choices I’ve made up to this point as well.

Once I got to the end of the book, I did question why there weren’t more stories regarding people that Anthony William has helped heal. The case study mentioned in the book involves Sally, a woman with many of the same symptoms I have. I started to do a little more research and found a video with Anthony William and Sally on YouTube. You can watch it below.

Continue reading “My Story + Book Review : Thyroid Healing by Anthony William” →